Food and Beverage Boiler Fan Application

A machine critical to the food and beverage industry—boiler fan in the fryer area—can cease production on any failures. Prior to enabling the “learning mode” alarm set points, OPTIME uses the ISO velocity recommendation (based on machine size) which alerted the customer to a higher-than-normal vibration on the machine. Utilizing the “Expert Viewer” application, the customer was able to identify the peaks in the demodulation vibration plot as lining up with the outer race frequency of the bearing. The peaks were prevalent in both the standard acceleration and the demodulation signal processing technique, indicating an advanced defect. Maintenance plans were scheduled for the fan resulting in cost savings of at least 20,000 CDN. The pilot OPTIME project identified this issue within two weeks of initial install.

Mignano offered a few planned features for future updates including: a simple drop-in, 4-port smart lubricator—connecting directly to the Ecosystem; lubrication on condition from the 4-port lubricator; dynamic mode and high dynamic mode for intermittently operating machinery (cranes, etc.) as well as significant, automated diagnostic enhancements (AI, machine learning) and electric motor-specific monitoring capabilities.